r/NewParents • u/Optimal_Maintenance1 • 21h ago

Illness/Injuries Neck support

Does anyone else feel like they missed a few important memos on parenting?

I've been picking my 4 month old up under his armpits for a while now.. apparently that's not ok until they're like 6 months old.

Oops.

15 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

41

u/FunInTheShade 19h ago

I just learned that you’re not supposed to put your kid on your lap when they go down a slide

22

u/liase 15h ago

Definitely learned that from that post too

2

u/Adorable-Reality-499 12h ago

What post? :o

3

u/201111533 8h ago

Idk what the post is but apparently kids break their legs like that all the time.

If they're alone and their leg gets stuck it's fine, they just stop moving. But if they're on someone's lap it's the weight of the adult moving down the slide that causes the break.

7

u/gingerrbitchh 11h ago

My LO is 3 months old but holds his own head up, so I recently started picking him up without supporting his head...

6

u/CallMeNiel 11h ago

I asked the pediatrician why it was so important to support the head, figuring he'd hurt his neck or something without support. He told me it was mostly because his unsupported head will flop around and we'll lose our grip and balance on him so he could fall. Nothing to do with neck injury, just need to hang on to a wiggly baby.

7

u/maybeokay0 10h ago

I pick my four month old up like that, I just use all my fingers to support the back of his head and neck. He has pretty good neck control so with this method his head has literally never flopped

14

u/basicparadox 13h ago

You can pick them up that way as long as your fingers are behind their head propping it up. You weren’t doing that?

4

u/moog719 6h ago edited 6h ago

I don’t think that’s correct. My baby is in physical therapy for a head tilt and one of the first things we were taught at 2 months old was to be less gentle with her and let her hold her own head more when lifting her up since she’s quite strong. I imagine a four month old is definitely at least as strong.

4

u/ChipperCherries 5h ago edited 5h ago

I really think this depends on how strong your baby's neck is, I don't think it's a one size fits all.

4

u/smallbutflighty 11h ago

This is news to me. My guy has had pretty great head control for a while now and he’s only 3 months. Why is it that it’s not recommended until 6 months?

-10

u/Quiet-Pea2363 15h ago

that's a bit scary honestly? you didn't notice your baby's head flopping over when you picked the up??

16

u/CatLordCayenne 12h ago

My babies head hasn’t flopped since 1 month

4

u/RubyBadooby 10h ago

You can also still support the neck whilst holding under the armpits, some babies have stronger necks sooner.

1

u/CaterpillarWestern88 4h ago

I’ve been doing this since my baby could hold his head up well around 3 months